How does your dog respond to coyote smell?

sean english · Post by **sean english** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 12:00 am

I was going to bring this up under another thread "How far can dogs smell" but then I thought I open a new one.
Anyways: A couple of weeks before I actually get my pup, we were walking out other mutt in this Oak Grove, not too far from our house. I saw a coyote there but our dog did not see or smell it. Wife panicked that its going to attack our dog, etc. So that was our encounter with the poor skinny coyote.
After we got our pup (maybe a week later) we were walking both dogs in the same area. Suddenly my new bird dog (springer) started to act funny: Head up, alert, running here, there, and acting like he had sensed something. I told my wife she either picked up the coyote smell or the raccoon family we had seen the other day but dog did not show any concern to the racoons. Anyway, her behavior continued for a good couple of hundred yards ( I will take my gps there and actually measure the distance she picked up the smell from the actual location of the coyote) until we finally saw the yote behind this hill. I was impressed.
Now my question is: Do dogs automatically feel the danger and start to bark or is this behavior something she might have LEARNED from her folks. Because the breeder we bought her from, lived in the boonies and had a big property. I wouldnt be surprised if they had visitor coyotes everynight and the parents start to bark at them.
What do you know? What's your experience with them?

Post by **ezzy333** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 12:34 am

I have never seen a dog that was scared of a yote. As far as they know I would guess they think it is another dog.

Ezzy

JIM K · Post by **JIM K** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 11:23 am

my lab is 10 yrs old. very good bird hunter in big woods of pa.had him out from puppy .

yet he is afraid or backs off from hunting if he gets wind of coyote or track.
he shuts right down.

DonF · Post by **DonF** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 12:11 pm

I doubt a dog in good condition would have anything to fear of a single coyote. I've had dog's followed on different occasions by coyote's and it as though the coyote wasn't even there. Two years ago Bodie came in off a big cast with a coyote maybe 10" behind. Bodie was in no hurry to get away and the coyote was in no hurry to catch up. maybe it was a female? I did fire a shot to scare it off anyway. While I don't think an in shape bird dog has anything to fear, I also don't want a first hand lesson that I'm wrong!

benelli · Post by **benelli** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 12:51 pm

There have been lots of coyotes around our house lately; Scout started to chase one all-out on Tuesday and I fried him with the collar to get him to stop (I wasn't sure if that was a fry-able offense, but he was gaining on the coyote and I didn't want to see what would happen if he caught up). Wednesday I had him at the dog park on base and a coyote trotted past, on the other side of the fence, and Scout ran back and forth along the fence until it had passed. Yesterday I had him out on a walk off-leash and we saw ANOTHER coyote; Scout started after it, and I was able to call him back to me, but he turned back towards the coyote a couple of times until he got back to me.

I guess it's a good thing Scout seems to be on the big side for a GSP, and the coyotes out here in the desert are really sickly scrawny little things, because it looks like he's going to tangle with one sooner or later.

Post by **Sharon** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 1:44 pm

alert
I played this post the other night - first time and the dogs went crazy - coyote pup in trouble

http://forums.oodmag.com/showthread.php?t=54417

ScoutB · Post by **ScoutB** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 2:48 pm

Both my ES and my parent's bulldog get nervous when they hear or smell coyotes. Where they were both bread (within 50 miles of each other) there is a pretty large population. That area is near the family mountain house. The coyotes in the area aren't loners. They are in packs, regularly take down 6 point bucks, and will snatch a dog for an easy meal in a heartbeat. Shoot them on sight.

sean english · Post by **sean english** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 9:54 pm

My pup wasnt afraid but it was alert. She was barking and kept her head all up like there was something wrong.
The video: I dont shoot them. Nor the bobcats or anything else I am not going to eat. Find no joy in it.

AG74 · Post by **AG74** » Sun Feb 24, 2013 4:15 pm

During my pup's first season we went hunting a sage brush canyon and my dogs tail stopped wagging. then he just hit the brakes. Not a point, just hit the brakes and stopped. I walked up and a coyote took off ahead of me. I took a shot at it, but missed by a hair and never saw it again. Not sure the pup knew exactly what he was smelling, as he didn't try to go after it. But I've noticed if his tail stops and goes straight out, he smells a mammal, like raccoon, yote, deer, etc. not a bird.

this year his boldness started to come out more and he's tried to go after coyotes and porcupines. Got into it with a raccoon once too, but that wasn't on a hunting trip, just a walk.

One particular day this season we were walking the ridges for Huns and he went out of sight into a canyon. Next thing I knew he was barking his head off down there. Next I saw him he was heading up the other side, chasing two coyotes. I blew my whistle, hit his beeper and stim simultaneously, and finally fired my shotgun to get him to come back. When he got back I discovered about a dozen porc quills in his neck.... He's not a big dog either. Maybe breaks 50 lbs when hunting season is over.

I guess what I'm saying is, it depends on your dog's boldness/confidence, etc and also breeding I'm sure. Some guys will say: if you wanna hunt birds only, get a specialist (ie -pointer) so you don't spend a bunch of time chasing coyotes and porcupines.... Mine is a GWP, so I'm sure hunting feathers and fur are bred into him.

You can trash break your dog off of stuff like that too - i obviously haven't been too successful at that! Good luck!

birddogger · Post by **birddogger** » Sun Feb 24, 2013 10:20 pm

I guess what I'm saying is, it depends on your dog's boldness/confidence, etc and also breeding I'm sure. Some guys will say: if you wanna hunt birds only, get a specialist (ie -pointer) so you don't spend a bunch of time chasing coyotes and porcupines.... Mine is a GWP, so I'm sure hunting feathers and fur are bred into him.

One of the best bird dogs I have ever owned was a pointer that loved fur as much, if not more than birds and she would point and then chase a coyote. Squirrels drove her absolutely nuts. So, not all pointers are specialists.

Charlie

GoBeavs85 · Post by **GoBeavs85** » Mon Feb 25, 2013 12:18 am

After two looong days of pheasant hunting and only one point my gsp locked up hard in a big crp field. We got all excited and rushed up to her. 20 yards ahead was a fresh dead coyote. Talk about disappointed!

She does go crazy when I turn on the coyote howl on the fox pro.

doop · Post by **doop** » Mon Feb 25, 2013 10:56 pm

I'm nott sure about coyote, but during deer season we were walking out to shack bout midnight and all of a sudden my lab's tail went up and he trotted around us marking and tearing up the ground, then froze up and stared into the trees until I called him. We shined the spot light and saw a couple wolves across the river. I've never seen him act like that before or since.

doop · Post by **doop** » Mon Feb 25, 2013 10:57 pm

I'm nott sure about coyote, but during deer season we were walking out to shack bout midnight and all of a sudden my lab's tail went up and he trotted around us marking and tearing up the ground, then froze up and stared into the trees until I called him. We shined the spot light and saw a couple wolves across the river. I've never seen him act like that before or since.

doop · Post by **doop** » Mon Feb 25, 2013 10:58 pm

I'm nott sure about coyote, but during deer season we were walking out to shack bout midnight and all of a sudden my lab's tail went up and he trotted around us marking and tearing up the ground, then froze up and stared into the trees until I called him. We shined the spot light and saw a couple wolves across the river. I've never seen him act like that before or since.

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